Rejoice for Answered Prayer
June 18, 2008
Larry left this morning for McAllen, Tx. to his new job. Not just a job but THE job that we have been praying about for some time and God would not let us stop. His title is Environmental Scientist. He will still need some study hours but he is contracted in that capacity by an environmental clean up firm. Right now he is putting in the hours in the field (and heat) at the well sites to engineer the clean up and will be working in Texas and New Mexico. For now, we will not be moving.
I just received a call from a tired but satisfied husband. Contract negotiations went well. His words-”I am overwhelmed with God”. Someday, over coffee maybe, we can share our testimony about these past 6 years for I believe that we have crossed the Jordan, and I am looking for some mighty big grapes!
Please, all of you who have prayed and stood with us through this trial, raise your hands and give a shout, share with us in our REJOICING! We are truly overwhelmed!
Love to all,
Karyn Miracle Pleake
Anniversary: Karyn Pleake
April 20, 2008
I write this to all who have stood with us through this last year and continue to stand with us still. It is also written in recognition of God’s continued grace in which I and my family walk.
It’s been one year since I went into the hospital for what was to have been a routine hernia repair. Continuing to be amazed by God’s providence, I know it is no casual observation that my birthday fell on Resurrection Day this year.
But the trial didn’t begin just one year ago. It began five years ago when a routine emergency appendectomy was the beginning of my health struggles. I was healthy— no problems, active until that pivotal day. What we didn’t know was that I was left with a hidden infection that would leak slowly into my system, wreaking havoc for the next four years. It remained undetected through two surgeries. It would take a punctured intestine, septicemia, coma and near death to find and expunge it from a fist-sized cavity that had developed.
We are forever changed by these events. Our characters formed, molded, and pruned by the inevitable possibility of “what if…” By all signs my survival was less than hopeful. Even Christian doctors were telling my family to prepare themselves for my death. That’s according to man’s laws. However, God’s destiny for our lives far outweighs man’s law.
When my doctor was apologizing and telling Larry what had happened and that it was out of her hands, God assured Larry that it was not unto death. Larry lived on that for the next month. However, getting to the point of recovering was like the frontlines of a physical and spiritual war.
There were scattered moments of consciousness, and eventually I could put a few words and thoughts together. I had to begin to process what had happened to me by bits and pieces. My faith has always come easily to me in other trials. This time I had no control over my faith; I could not “work it up.” I knew the word God, I knew of my history with God, and I knew He was in control. I could not remember the Lord’s Prayer, and I could not remember Scripture. I had to just…exist, remain vulnerable (very hard for me). I could not lift my hands to scratch my nose. I could not turn or feed myself. I also could not control my breathing to speak properly—I sounded like Katherine Hepburn in On Golden Pond. As time progressed, things got better. But never back to normal.
I was released from the hospital after one month. No one, not even the doctors, knew what my recovery would look like or how long it would take. According to the doctors, I have another six months until I fully recover. It has been a day-to-day adventure. Sometimes forward, sometimes backward … but always further away from what happened.
TRUST is always a big hurdle in a Christian’s walk. It seems easiest to trust God when it is necessary or convenient. We want to think of ourselves as temperate, self-controlled, self-sufficient, self-providing —whoa! That’s a lot of self.
God can allow one domino to be pushed and our whole concept of ourselves topples and we are left scrambling to put it all back together. In our rushing and scrambling, we often forget that maybe since it (preconceptions, ideas, identities, etc…) could be toppled in the first place, perhaps the structure or what it was built upon was not solid or had weaknesses.
Please allow me to illustrate. Concrete that is used in custom-built homes takes time to dry and cure. This ensures that the concrete will be dense and less likely to have any fissures or air trapped within. This foundation is so important to the builder that sometimes he will let it dry/cure for six months or more. He wants to be sure that what he is building the house upon will withstand the pressure from both the environment and the house itself. The foundation is crucial. If our foundation has elements in it that will cause the house that the Lord is building to be unsound, then it needs work. One of the biggest fissures or weaknesses to a firm foundation is lack of TRUST.
Some of our emotions such as anger and fear have their solutions or healing based in TRUST. God tells us “TRUST, do not be afraid.” He told Joshua several times before he took responsibility for leadership after Moses, “Be strong and of good courage” (Joshua, chapter 3). How many times in Psalms does David lay out his fear and anger before God, then he himself answers “But yet I will trust You, I will praise You” (paraphrased, Ps 56:3,4; 71:4,5; 91:1-4…).
We can always look to the book of Job for examples in suffering for unknown reasons. Job loved God. What did he do wrong? Nothing. He was allowed to be sifted. He lost family, friends, and wealth. Even in his agony, he cries out, “Though He slay me yet will I trust in Him” (Job 13:15). I am no better and no more righteous than any that have gone before me that have been sifted and tried. But I am just as loved and jealously watched over. God wants us to know Him—no other crutches to lean on, no self-sufficiency. Those all have limits. He does not.
TRUST does not come with the blink of an eye nor can you go through the local drive-through and order it up or “king size” it. A history must be built between the Creator and the created, often tenuous at first from the created’s point of view. With experience, time, and the willingness to be shaped and formed, it becomes a bedrock of unshakable faith in the Author and Finisher of that very faith.
To build TRUST takes trials. Not everyone has the same trials, and we cannot compare them. Some may look at our lives and wonder why we continue or how our marriage could have withstood and even grown stronger through all the stresses. But I look at others and their trials and think similar things. The Almighty is the only one that can determine what constitutes a trial in a person’s life that will produce the character that reflects one who is totally devoted to Him. Only He knows the hearts of man.
Working out these trials is not always a nice neat process. I have experienced the cushioning and buffering that my brothers and sisters in Christ provide. I am often referred to by friends from all different walks as a WYSIWYG: What you see is what you get. I cannot hide my squirming, anxious, frustrated feelings sometimes, and they are all there for all to see. But friends have been there to cover me, to hide me, to protect me, to encourage me, to lift my arms in times of battle. Not to question why the trial is so long or so big but just to be there in the trial with me. With me to wipe my tears, to hear yet another frustrated sob session or prayer request.
I have been truly blessed in this lifetime to have experienced the enfolding of the body of Christ. Our family was lifted up by hundreds of people all around the U.S. I am overwhelmed to think of it and words fall short of the expression of awe and thankfulness. There will be a day when I feel that furnace door open and the breath of God like a cool breeze will wash over me and I will hear “It is finished. Well done, thy good and faithful servant.” And all who have stood with us will join in the rejoicing.
My love and unending thankfulness to you all…Karyn Ann MIRACLE (yes, it’s really my name) Pleake
Putting Our Lives in God’s Hands: Caitlyn Pleake
April 20, 2008
I have been educating the children, ages four to six years, for the past month and a half. These children are eager to learn about God, and they memorize their Scriptures diligently. Their faith and trust is quite impressive.
As young Christians get older, they lose the understanding they had as children and the ability to not put God in a box. They also lose a large amount of their trust in God as they enter the tough trials of this world. This is disheartening, because it is the exact opposite of what God wants his sheep to do. He wants us to grow continuously and constructively closer to Him.
Over the past five years, I’ve experienced many trust-testing trials. When I was nine years old, my mother (Karyn) had a perforated appendix. I forget how many days my mother stayed in the hospital, but the most vivid thoughts that haunt my mind are the anger and distrust towards God and the sight of my mother being home on Christmas Day.
The next four years really took a toll on my family. After my mother’s run-in with appendicitis, she developed a football-size hernia the very next year. Life was hell for her. There wasn’t a day when she wasn’t in excruciating pain. Cleaning the house, doing chores, and helping Caleb with his schoolwork fell to me even though I had my own school work to do. These activities fell to me because Dad was working and Mom was always tired and in pain. Honestly, I didn’t mind the work; I just wanted Mom not to be in pain.
But as the years continued, Mom’s pain did not cease. Over 50% of my trust in God had diminished. Yes, I knew He was there, but it felt like we were in a pit we couldn’t escape. I prayed to God almost all day, constantly. It felt like God was ignoring me. But he wasn’t. He listens to our prayers; we just need to trust Him.
Finally in February, 2007, Mom, Dad, Caleb, and I were all sitting in the living room praying. As if on cue, all of us received a sense of dread. We had no idea what it was about. I continuously begged Mom to promise me she would come home that week. She couldn’t. The next day, Mom went to the hospital for routine hernia repair. The surgery was proceeding undisturbed until a small piece of mesh that had fused into the side of her intestine caused the intestine to rip. Everything took a turn for the worse.
Instead of staying in the hospital for a few days, Mother stayed an entire month. During that month, my Uncle Bill came to help. On the day that my grandmother Ann was to arrive and our uncle left, our cat had four lovely kittens. At that point, I realized that God hadn’t left, but what I didn’t realize was a test of my obedience and respect was about to take place.
I have never had a very close relationship with my grandmother and I regret it. While she was here, many things were said that hurt our relationship even more but I was required to obey her. Every time I heard those hurtful utterances, I’d go sit under trees with my two favorite kittens. While holding those little wriggling fur balls, I’d listen to the rustle of the leaves and the sound of the passing cars. All I had to do was listen and forget all my worries, and I could feel a peace that warmed me. But my trust in God still wasn’t there.
Many times we didn’t go to church. This made life worse. Church is what I had really needed. The knowledge that people around you are praying for your family is quite a comfort. At that time, my only comfort was seeing Dad, Caleb, and the kittens. The comfort I needed and wanted from God wasn’t there.
Mother’s birthday came and went. On her birthday we had a celebration of not only her birthday but her being alive and walking. The very next week Mom was able to come home. We had to give the kittens and Miss Kiddy away. I trusted God, and I knew He would take care of our little fur balls and my family.
Just last month, we learned Mom has two more hernias (caused by the surgery). The doctors will not perform surgery because of all the scar tissue she has. Once I heard this I really started noticing the children’s trust in God. They fully understand that He’ll take care of them and they don’t worry about those things. I wish my trust was as strong as a child’s, but I know that until I let God take control of my life, I won’t have complete trust in Him.
My point is that no matter what we go through, even if it involves a death, we need to trust God or we will be miserable. We are continuously figuring out how to be submissive to God. Yet we don’t do it. “We need to come to the Lord as children,” says our dear Fr. Chip. And do we? Even those who have been Christians all of their lives struggle with trusting God completely. We have to build each other up and put our lives in God’s hands.
Family Testimony: Larry Pleake
April 20, 2008
Note: The next two testimonies of God working in our lives come from a mother and daughter. The comment below is from husband/father.
My wife Karyn and my teenaged daughter Caitlyn both wrote on trust independently of each other! Neither read the other’s work. You think God is trying to tell good ole hard-headed me—or all of us—something?
Testimony: William Hilliard
April 10, 2008
The Lord God, King of the Universe, will by His Holy Spirit give His angels charge over you to protect you and help you in your time of need. Have you confessed with your mouth, believing in your heart that this is true? Do you really believe that thousands may fall all around you, but you will be upheld if you love the Lord? Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief.
So many times I have experienced His gracious protection. One of the first times I recall was when I was driving from San Antonio to San Marcos I was driving in the fast lane when a very strong urge came over me to move over to the right lane. Just as I did so, a car came over a hill going the wrong way in the lane I had just left. This has happened several times and I have felt a strong urge to stay to the right or not pass someone, and a car would pop up going the wrong way in the left lane.
Another incident that still gives me chills happened when I was on vacation in New Mexico. I was touring by motorcycle and camping without a tent. I stopped at a campground near Ruidoso. There was only one other camper, a man and wife in a small trailer. I parked my motorcycle about five feet from the foot of my sleeping bag, and bedded down for the night. I had a vivid dream.
I dreamed I was in Alaska and somehow got between a cow moose and her calf—a very dangerous place to be. I started to feel fear when a voice said, “You are protected; you are protected.” I relaxed, but shortly thereafter heard a noise and woke up. My camping gear was scattered, and the motorcycle was on its side. I was cleaning up the mess when the other camper came over and said there was a bear around. I knew the he was right, as some of my gear had teeth marks on it. Well, I crawled back in my sleeping bag and slept soundly. I had been told I was protected. The next morning the other guy came over and told me that the bear had returned, stood on his hind legs and rocked his trailer. His wife was not amused. It, however, did not return to bother me. Luck? No way! I’m certain God’s holy angel stood over me and protected me.
There are times, however, when the Holy Spirit will not prevent something from happening, but He will carry us through. Sometimes we have a lesson to learn or we are being directed in a certain way. Once, according to the report, I hit some black ice (ice that can’t be seen on the pavement) in Texas, and my loaded truck turned over in the median. I was knocked unconscious and air-lifted to the hospital with what turned out to be a mild concussion. The angels prevented a much more serious result. So we are not always kept from trouble, but we are always protected by His might power. Praise His Name.
Confess His mighty power and His great Love. Give Him praise and glory and accept His working in your life. Give your testimony for His great glory.
Keep looking up!
My Path to Faith: Diana Dunlap
April 1, 2008
It was suggested to me that I write about my recent walk to find faith. I was also told to write, which I will explain later.
I have spent my life in and out of church. Always a believer, sometimes studying the Bible, sometimes very active in church, then falling out of church because of one reason or another. I must admit many times I fell out of church because the church went off the tracks and left me standing in the via media. My son, when he was very young, was the one who inspired my husband and me to join the Episcopal Church. His faith and his understanding of Scripture, beginning at a very young age, are still very astute. The Episcopal Church is where I began studying and learning about our God and the Scripture. That was just before the Episcopal Church went awry, which is when I began feeling abandoned. My husband’s job afforded us the opportunity to move a few times to different cities in Texas and each time we managed to find a church. Each one had problems, and it was such an unsettling experience that I managed to find excuses not to worship on Sundays. I felt something was missing but I was unsure how to deal with it.
I continued my life of excuses and justification of those excuses for several years. I was frequently angry with how my own life was going. People I worked with were cunning and hypocritical—people who claimed to be Christians. Others I worked with or were associated with were cruel to their fellow human beings. I felt cheated in life because even if we had a windfall of money through the sale of a home or increase in salary, it still disappeared. I began exploding for no reason, losing my temper, then crying. Life just wasn’t going right; it wasn’t fair.
At times, we thought we were headed down the right path only to find it was a dead end. We would scramble for another door to walk through. I cursed frequently and realized I had become one of those people I didn’t like (except I don’t think I was ever cruel to anyone). We had extended family problems that constructed a brick wall between them and us. I won’t go into that because it really doesn’t matter—not anymore. I will say that this wall made my life totally miserable for many years. It was also the reason I finally took the right path and found my faith.
My husband and I made another move and wound up here in San Antonio. Things began to happen. My husband was looking through the Yellow Pages for an Episcopal Church that still used the 1928 Prayer Book. As you can imagine, he became frustrated because he didn’t see anything that looked promising. I picked up the phone book and without thinking went directly to Anglican Churches. This had to be a message from our Lord because the thought of “Anglican Church” never crossed my mind…but I turned to it immediately. Of course, All Saints Anglican Church was right there!
I got the Mapsco out to find the location, and we drove over to see the church. We pulled up to the curb and were contemplating our next move when an attractive woman walked out of the church and introduced herself as Patti Babb. She was so friendly and encouraging we decided to accept her invitation to visit. Our first visit was a good one. The service was a beautiful service and very similar to what we once knew. Even though we had found a church that we believed was a good one for us, I still found excuses not to attend on occasion and my life was still in upheaval most of the time. The family wall was still an anger issue with me.
Months went by and I finally decided it was time to go talk with our priest about this family wall. He helped me through this walk of forgiveness—a walk that I never thought I would be able take. He told me, “God cannot touch sin.” I never thought of myself as a sinner. I knew I was far from perfect, but not a sinner per se. I finally realized that I was sinning because I could not forgive that person who had hurt me, my husband, and, most of all, our son. I had clung to that hate for so long it was keeping me from my Savior and keeping Him from helping me overcome it. Needless to say it took a few visits with our priest as well as several messages back and forth.
I did not miss church unless I was out of town or running fever. I read the Prayer Book every morning and prayed in ways I never understood before. Several weeks passed. One Sunday I had just taken Communion and was kneeling at the pew praying. Tears welled in my eyes, and I found the strength to forgive. I felt such a burden lifted from me that I was crying, but it was with joy and awe. I was able to do the unthinkable—to forgive someone whom I had allowed to hurt me for so long even though that person had passed on to be with the Father several years ago. I was happy, truly happy, for the first time in a very long time. But it did not end here.
I kept praying, joined classes, and became busy doing things around church. I began learning of the Holy Spirit in a way I had not understood before. He is the ultimate Comforter. I learned to invite Him into my heart, to dwell in my heart. I gave my heart to our Lord and asked that He help me have a loving relationship with Him. “Help me hear when you speak so that I will know what I am to do.” For the first time in my life I heard what I was to do. The pathway was still opening up for me. I found that I was happier and more joyful than ever; however, now I could not sleep. I was awakened in the middle of the night every night thinking, “What can I do at church; what should I do at church; what would really help the church?” I could not turn loose of those thoughts. Sometimes I would get up and search the Internet for ideas to improve the church building or just anything that I could do to help the church.
I finally discussed this with our priest, and he replied that I had been “touched by the Holy Spirit.” Me? I thought my mind was in overdrive. No, it truly was the Holy Spirit. Our priest sent a passage of Scripture for me to read and after reading it, I was to listen for the Holy Spirit. I read it and He spoke, saying “I am in your heart.” I have never felt so blessed in my life. I went to bed that evening feeling so joyful that I had taken this walk and found my Lord and Savior.
I awoke the next morning and began speaking in my mind, telling the Holy Spirit that I was so happy He was in my heart and that I give my heart to Him. At that moment, my back involuntarily arched and I felt tingling warmth radiate from my heart through my arms to the tips of my fingers. My priest had asked if I would consider writing an article for the Epistle about my experience, and I was going to do just that. I truly believe that since the warmth radiated from my heart to the tips of my fingers, the Holy Spirit was telling me to write. So I did.
You have my story as it stands today. I don’t know what I will be told to do tomorrow, but I am here and He is with me. I have no doubt that I will understand what I am to do next. I will continue to pray and attend His church at All Saints. I feel His presence is so large at All Saints and His work is waiting to be done. I pray that all of us can pick up our crosses and walk with Him. Help build this church into a place of worship that is in His honor and full of His glory. We have a very unique opportunity to do something wonderful in our lives. No matter what problems you have in your life, I understand. I also understand that you can overcome them with prayer, faith, and belief. I do not make proclamations lightly, but I can tell you this happened to me and I am changed.
Thanks be to God!
Healing: Debbie McCullough (written by Father Chip)
March 2, 2008
Debbie has been plagued by post surgical complications from a procedure she had several years ago On a recent Sunday night, she had a flare up and ended up in the ER at North Central Baptist Hospital. I received this call at Koinonia and promptly went to the wrong hospital. In the meantime, two of our parishioners went to the correct hospital, joined Steve in laying hands on Debbie, praying for the Lord heal her and take away her considerable pain. He did! She went home that night and has not returned. Praise the Lord! We serve a mighty God who will honor the prayers of His people. Let us go forth in joy to love and serve Him!
The Grace of God in Time of Trouble: Deana Benninger
February 25, 2008
On January 31, 2008, I found out the hard way that the Lord is always with us whether we notice it not! I wasn’t home at the time everyone in my subdivision was evacuated due to a fire. By the time we got to the entry of our subdivision, we could see numerous flaming areas of grass in the lot on our corner with some flames being 10 feet high and spreading
faster than you could blink. The scary thing is that our house wasn’t far from that grassy lot; only a few fences and a yard separated the flames from our home!
The police blocked off the entry and wouldn’t let me get our dog Bella out of our house no matter how much I pleaded with the officer. He said,
“Pets are insignificant and they don’t matter!” That really upset me, because for us Bella is a family member and our dog child. And yes, she is
just a dog, but she is irreplaceable just as any human is. I know he was just doing his job, but I was already beside myself at this point and his
words only made me feel worse about the situation and somehow I felt I was betraying Bella. I second-guessed all the decisions I had made earlier
that day and wondered if I had done this or that if I would have been home at the time and could have gotten her to safety.
My first call was to get Josh by my side, and the next was to call Father Chip to get him praying for a good outcome for the situation. I figured if I
got enough people praying maybe God would hear us and spare our home and Bella. I didn’t care about our home during the chaos since that’s what insurance is for. Sure it would have been an inconvenience to be out of a home and all our things gone, but they could be replaced…not
Bella!
Josh was able to meet my mom and me where we were stationed at a small shopping strip adjacent to our subdivision. But all we could do was stand and watch and wonder for nearly three and a half hours. We spoke with others who lived in our neighborhood while we were watching the fire department try to put out the flames. But some of the stories had our minds working overtime with what if’s. It was excruciating not knowing if our house was on fire or if our dog was alive or dead, especially since we keep her crated when we are not home. An odd coincidence is not more than a few weeks earlier we had ADT come out and install a wired smoke detector so she would be more protected if something happened when we were not home. I called them and they assured me that no alarms were going off inside our home. So that put me at ease for a little bit, but when I was looking at flames so close to our home, little could calm me down.
By the time they let us walk back into our subdivision, we could see some homes had their yards and fences totally torched back to front. There
was probably smoke damage to detached garages and homes closer to the flames. To my knowledge, no one’s home was completely destroyed.
Some people’s pets that were outside did suffer from smoke inhalation, though I’m not sure if any were really hurt or died. However, looking at one person’s home, it looked so bad it seemed that the dogs in the backyard would have died!
When we got back to our house, I grabbed Bella and Josh looked out the back door. He saw that more than 50% of our backyard was scorched, and there was about the same amount of damage to our back and side fence. The fire department had knocked down a section of our fence to fight the fire and used our water hose to help keep it from starting back up. We had to leave again, and it was nearly two hours later that everyone was allowed back for good. At that point we could see truly how lucky everyone was.
One neighbor’s yard was a total loss, but the neighbor on the other side wasn’t even touched! We were very lucky that it didn’t hit the house,
although one part of the fire in the back yard came six inches from the back of our home. On the other side of the yard, the burned grass didn’t
come as close and that was the area where Bella was closest. But seeing the path the fire took convinced me it could have only been God that
spared the area near where Bella was kept in our bedroom on the back wall.
The thing that made it so bad that day was that the winds were reported anywhere from 25-55 mph. The news said that a power line snapped nearby. When it hit the ground, it caused a spark and as dry as it was in that field, it seemed like less than five minutes before the whole thing lit up. The news said 20-30 acres were burned just in this little area. Luckily we had about 23 fire units respond very quickly, and I think that is what saved everyone’s homes from going up in flames. By the time the fire department had one patch out, it would start back up. Our area wasn’t the only fire in the city at the time so we were lucky to have as many units as we did. This ordeal showed me how truly amazing God
is. He was definitely there when we needed Him! Looking at the home directly behind us, we can see that their grass and fence were damaged,
but the fire went all the way around the house without touching it. To me that was a miracle if there ever was one!
Lately I’ve been having a spiritual battle, I have been so consumed with getting pregnant, even more after miscarrying back in early August. I feel that we have a short window of opportunity to have a baby before Josh gets deployed somewhere. I felt with all the bad things that have happened in my life that somehow God owed me one and I wanted to cash in with a child. As a kid I was forced to attend church while living in
Ft. Worth and came to actually despise all things religion—the kind of church I went to can do that to you. Also, seeing what happened at the church my grandmother attended with the rolling of the eyes and the snakes turned me off and made me think how phony this all must be!
And then along comes Josh, a man with a calling for playing the pipe organ. And where do you find pipe organs … churches. I thought, great.
Josh grew up Catholic and had an extensive background in the Episcopal Church. When we found All Saints, it was pretty easy for him. Me … I was so terrified that I avoided Communion because I didn’t know what to do until Father Chip taught me.
All Saints became a family—so much so that Josh and I were married there. When Josh felt that he needed to further his musical talents and
move on to Christ Episcopal, I wasn’t pleased at first. I felt that I was just getting comfortable with this entire Anglican liturgy, and I was forced to go to a place where things were different from what I had just learned. I was so involved with various ministries at All Saints that I felt I
was short staffing people and that we were going to be written off and not allowed back.
Since September we’ve been embraced by the congregation at Christ Church and, thankfully, still accepted by our family at All Saints. It is
very hard to make the choice which church to attend each Sunday. I am in the middle, so to speak, between wanting to support my husband and wanting to be somewhere that is more comfortable and nonjudgmental.
The night of the fire, I was up till nearly 2 a.m. I couldn’t rest my mind and couldn’t stop coughing from all the smoke I had inhaled on top of the illness I already was battling. But each time I looked at something in our home—whether it was my husband or our dog or some stupid knickknack we had—I was brought to tears realizing how truly lucky we were. Josh
seems to think that the winds played a part in the flames taking the path they did, but I don’t think so. It was God; it had to be! When my faith was at its lowest point, He came to make me believe again and put me back on the right path in my mind and heart.
A few months ago, I was sitting in the pews at Christ Church waiting for the service to begin when I had a thought to change what I wanted to
use as a middle name for our first girl. I had always loved the name Emily and chose Rene as the middle name long before Josh and I ever met. But by some overwhelming force, the name Grace popped into my head, and when I said Emily Grace out loud it seemed like it was meant to be. Well, we will have to wait for Emily Grace to enter our world, but I definitely believe in the Grace of God and that He was present that windy day.
Deana Benninger
Pain Eliminated: Shannon Lindstrom
February 2, 2008
I have been praying fervently and focusing in on Psalm 6 and 41. Then in prayer I heard “ALL SAINTS ANGLICAN CHURCH.” My response was, But Lord, I still feel like crud and don’t want to go to Church like that. Then I checked my e-mail and saw that a healing minister would be there on that Sunday…So I went. I had had a terrible pain on my left ear the past
few days. It felt like someone had literally taken a hammer and smashed my ear. It was still there during the service. Then the minister prayed for me, and, when I was driving home, I felt my ear and the pain was gone. I always try to find a explanation for everything…but that was no coincidence. I believe the Lord is at work in my body.
Father Chip, tell everyone that our God is bigger than cancer, He is bigger than heart attacks and diabetes…and He is bigger than all our problems. Be of good cheer, for He has overcome the world. I wanted to tell folks that myself.
Thanks be to God.
Shannon Lindstrom
Healing: Cruz Sanchez
January 4, 2008
Cruz Sanchez believes in the power of prayer—he has seen the results in his own life. He was diagnosed with macular degeneration, and his right eye was bleeding. Soon a big black spot in the middle of the eye reduced his vision significantly. As the disease progressed, he began receiving treatment through a weekly injection in his eye. One Sunday, Fr. Chip laid hands on Cruz and prayed for healing, and by Tuesday the black spot had lightened to gray. After 21 months of weekly treatments, he can now see as if looking through a thin gray curtain. He can read, though the type is wavy, and he’s delighted to be able to read Scripture again. He no longer requires weekly treatment and doesn’t have to return to the eye doctor for two months. Praise God!
